Thursday, January 3, 2008

In Russia, Santa Claus is known as Father Frost. He is usually illustrated with his granddaughter, the snow maiden, Snegurochka riding with an evergreen tree and presents in a traditional Russian troika. A troika is a sleigh drawn by 3 horses yoked abreast. The banner reads, "Happy New Year!" Christmas is now celebrated in Russia on January 7. After the Russian October Revolution in 1917, the calendar was changed to place Christmas after New Year's Day. This was done in order to place more emphasis on the non-religious New Year's Day. For this reason, the Russian Father Frost is associated with New Year's Day rather than with Christmas.